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The Meroë Head of Augustus:Africa defies Rome

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Bronze head from a statue of the
Roman emperor Augustus. Found in Meroë, Sudan, made in 27–25 BC.
BM 1911,0901.1

Find out how this iconic bronze head of Rome’s
first emperor Augustus became a symbol of African resistance in the
ancient royal city of Meroë, in northern Sudan.

When the Meroë Head was excavated in 1910, it caused an
immediate sensation. It is remarkably well preserved and only
survived because in antiquity it was ritually buried far from the
borders of the Roman Empire. In this display you will come face to
face with this potent symbol of Rome’s authority, and see how
grains of sand, fused to the corroded surface of the bronze, still
hint at its dramatic fate.

Augustus became sole ruler in 27 BC, after a civil war that
followed Julius Caesar’s assassination. The Meroë Head must have
been created soon after. Uniquely among Augustus’ bronze portraits,
it preserves inlaid eyes that vividly capture his powerful gaze.
Originally, it must have been part of a statue set up in a
settlement at the southern border of Egypt, soon after the Roman
conquest.

Further to the south, in what is now northern Sudan, lay Kush, a
powerful African kingdom with its capital at Meroë. In 25/24 BC a
Kushite army raided Roman Egypt’s southern border. Pursued by the
Romans, the invaders destroyed and looted portrait statues of
Augustus, among them the Meroë Head. Despite Roman demands, this
prized trophy was never sent back. Instead, as a permanent act of
defiance, the Kushites buried it beneath the steps of a victory
monument at Meroë, so that worshippers symbolically trampled
Augustus’ decapitated head as they entered the building.

Rarely seen photographs from the time of the excavation bring
the landscape and buildings of Meroë to life and capture the sense
of excitement felt by the archaeologists involved. In the display
you will also discover why ruler portraits like the Meroë Head
became such powerful tools of official propaganda, from antiquity
to the present and from the sands of Sudan to the streets of modern
Baghdad.

Bronze head from a statue of
the Roman emperor Augustus. Found in Meroë, Sudan, made in 27–25
BC.
BM 1911,0901.1